Call it college rock, call it slacker rock, call it 90s rock. Whatever you call it, indie rock trio Onceweresixty are gearing up to release their new album 'Loco Sunset Boulevard / Ghetto Blast Noise Machine'. Paving the way with the lead single 'Don't Get Stuck', they are also offering a lyrics video. Gentle yet vibrant, while mellow and seductive, here they offer a mercurial soundscape.
This 8-track offering - structured in two parts as a double EP - will be released on CD and vinyl by Uglydog Records, together with Beautiful Losers and PrettyOK Records. Here they pay homage the sonic ghosts of such artists as Belle & Sebastian, Pavement, Morphine, Low, Herman Dune, Silver Jews and The Velvet Underground,.
Onceweresixty was founded by Marco Lorenzoni (guitars, vocals and keyboards) and Luca Sella (drums, guitar and vocals), who began collaborating in 2001 via their old band MR60. The band is rounded out by Enrico Grando (keyboards and saxophone), who joined the band shortly after their 2021 release 'The Flood', a concept album about the consciousness of the insignificance of humans against the force of nature, and a society bent on self-destruction.
Over the past three years, this double EP took form at Villa Albrizzi Marini, a magical place in the Venice countryside hills en route to the Alps. Onceweresixty set up their studio on this 1400-villa property, owned by the Armenian Church. Marco Lorenzoni explains, "The Villa - an ongoing project of urban regeneration via art activism - is absolutely inspiring and amazing, and we’re glad to be part of it. Onceweresixty and our own label Uglydog Records have always been at the forefront of promoting the arts, supporting artists and creating social connections. This is our little Warhol Factory in the countryside."
Describing their own music as "weird psych folk pop", Onceweresixty draws their roots back to an ancient tale about the ghost of a beatnik biker living in a broken toy keyboard. "Sometimes he takes control of our minds and makes us play strange weird songs," says Lorenzoni, who continues to tell the tale of the band's origin.
“Immediately upon entering Texas from Las Vegas, drunk on tequila, we lost our way, the desert all around us and not a drop of water. Desperate, we recited a few passages from the Bible by heart, inventing what we didn't remember. It was at that moment that MR60 came to our rescue. He hosted us on his ranch, quenched our thirst and gave us bags of top quality tobacco. There we found everything we needed: out of tune guitars, out of tune tuners, Paleolithic barrel organs, a Stradivarius and a buffalo skull... We never left…
"Well actually, we did leave," Lorenzoni admits. "somehow adult life took us one by one into everyday office routines and familiar responsibilities with bills to pay and so on."
Relaunched as Onceweresixty in 2018 after a 10-year hiatus, the band began conquering new musical territory. Their indie dream of the early 2000s ultimately gave way to colder and leaner sounds, better reflecting the current times. Luca Sella explains, "If MR60 used to compare the north-eastern Italy cultural desert to the Texan desert landscapes, today that desert is a post-apocalyptic land populated by brain-eating zombies. Anger and ignorance are everywhere. Everything is lost. Or maybe not”
'Don't Get Stuck' is out now, available everywhere digitally, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. The double EP 'Loco Sunset Boulevard / Ghetto Blast Noise Machine' will be released on March 22. It can be ordered directly from the artist via Bandcamp.
CREDITS
Music written by M.Lorenzoni, L. Sella, E. Grando
Lyrics written by M. Lorenzoni
Marco Lorenzoni - guitars, vocals & keyboards
Luca Sella - drums, guitar & vocals
Enrico Grando - keyboards, vocals & saxophone
Recorded and produced by Onceweresixty at VAMpires! Room
Mixed by Mauro Martinuz at Bottega Sonora
Mastered by Federico Pelle at Basement Studio
Cover artwork by Freddy Mason
Studio photos of Onceweresixty by Ilaria Baggio
Live photos of Onceweresixty by Veronica Bassani and Freddy Mason
This record is dedicated to Loco, who was known to be a good dog, and Enrico Pese, who was known to be a good guy
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